An ecosocialist blog

How will I be voting on Thursday?

I keep being asked how I am going to vote on Thursday by both Green supporters and supporters of other parties. In the past I have simply told people to mind their own business, but in a spirit of open-ness I am happy to lay my cards on the table these days.Obviously, we should all vote Green on the second ballot paper – but what about the first ballot and the AV referendum?

The AV referendum has given me some consternation. It is a bit like being asked whether I want my left arm or my right arm chopped off. I don’t want either option, thank you very much!! As far as I am concerned, PR is the only way to properly democratic politics. But as there is no choice but to have one or the other, there is, of course the lesser of two evils with choosing an arm to lose (as a right hander, it would be bye bye to my left arm). So it is with AV or FPTP. There is clearly a very small advantage in opting for AV, so YES to AV it will have to be.

As brave as I believe they were to enter a coalition with the Tories, Clegg has cosied up too close to Cameron for the Lib Dems to be an acceptable option at the moment. They deserve the bloody nose they are likely to get.

This leaves us with Carwyn Jones and Labour. The only realistic challenger is Alex Williams for the Tories, and as this is obviously unacceptable, despite Alex being a nice guy, I feel compelled to back Carwyn on this occasion. I would probably have abstained in the belief that Carwyn is probably safe enough, but as many Labour supporters are backing our 2nd Vote Green message (rather than waste their second vote), preferring us as allies to the other options, I feel we should repay the favour and back Labour on the first ballot, given the Conservative challenge in this seat is within striking distance. So, again without any great enthusiasm, I will vote Carwyn Jones, Labour on the first ballot.

Thank you for your contribution. I take on board your comments. I regret my choice of wording with regards to Mr Thomas, as it was not typical of the way I like do politics. I should have detailed his relevant political shortcomings or kept quiet. You might, perhaps, reflect that you have made exactly the same mistake yourself in your comment.